April 5, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 3 Syracuse women’s lacrosse team scored four goals in the first 2:28 of the second half to extend a five-goal halftime advantage to a 13-4 lead as it knocked off No. 6 Notre Dame, 16-10, on Thursday night at Arlotta Stadium.
After taking a 9-4 lead into halftime, the Orange roared out of the gates in the second half with four goals in 2:28 to put the game out of reach. Kailah Kempney scored two of her team-best five goals during the stretch. Syracuse scored all four after winning the draw control.
For the game, Syracuse pulled down 18 draw controls to just nine for the Irish. Seven of the Orange goals came directly from a draw control.
The Irish tried to put together a rally of sorts, scoring four goals from 22:20 to 8:50 and holding the Orange scoreless for a stretch of almost 24 minutes in the second half. However, the deficit was too great and the Orange offense to potent as they scored three more goals in the final 4:35 of the contest to give the game its final score.
Syracuse did a fine job containing a Notre Dame offense that averaged 14.78 goals and 29.9 shots a game to just 10 goals on 20 shots.
The Orange were led by Kempney’s five goals and seven draw controls and Alyssa Murray’s two goals and three assists. Katie Webster also added four goals for the Orange. Five players scored goals for Syracuse, with all five recording multiple goals.
In a losing effort, senior Maggie Tamasitis, junior Jaimie Morrison and sophomore Kaitlyn Brosco each scored two goals.
Tamasitis extended her games with at least a point streak to 46 with her two goals, but failed to record an assist for only the second time in her last 29 games. The Boyertown, Pa., native also moved into a tie for fifth in Irish history with 196 points in her career.
Picking up the loss for the Irish in goal was junior Ellie Hilling (8-2), who recorded 10 saves on the day. Syracuse had a pair of goalies that saw action, with Alyssa Costantino (7-1) recording three saves in the first half and Kelsey Richardson doing the same in the second half.
Notre Dame trailed by five goals at half after several failed opportunities and the relentless attacking of the Orange yielded a 9-4 score. The halftime deficit was only the second this season for the Irish, as they also trailed last week at Loyola. The five-goal deficit at halftime was the largest for Notre Dame since May 15, 2010, when it was trailing 11-4 to Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Irish (8-2, 2-2) return to action on Saturday morning when they welcome conference opponent Villanova to Arlotta Stadium for an 11 a.m. showdown. Fans can follow the game by watching the live video feed on UND.com or by following live stats. Links to both can be found on UND.com.
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